


Making Gold in the Golden Country

by MasterXploder



Series: Peenoblade Chronicles 2 [5]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Am I still straight?, Gen, My first exclusively-male omorashi story, No Spoilers, Omorashi, This question keeps me up all night, Urination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:25:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterXploder/pseuds/MasterXploder
Summary: While out collecting food for the militia in Aletta, Mikhail feels nature calling. However, as an equally-desperate Milton says, he needs to wait for Addam to call the break if he wants to prove he can still hang in there with the rest of the group. He'd been through worse in his young life, surely he could hold out, right?(This is an omorashi/wetting desperation story. Reader discretion advised)Also available on omorashi.org





	Making Gold in the Golden Country

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Contains underaged wetting desperation. Reader discretion advised.

Sadness. It seemed like no matter where Mikhail went, it was always hanging in the back of his mind. The sights he saw in his travels hadn’t helped; if there wasn’t a village burned to cinders by roaming bandits, it was leveled completely by an aegis hell-bent on Alrest’s destruction. Even here in the comparatively-untouched Aletta region of Torna, there was a noticeable tension in the air. The army stationed here in the harbor, all personally hand-picked by Prince Addam himself, seemed too focused on the looming war ahead to find reasons to relax and smile.

But then there was the party that the boy found himself traveling with. They were set on defeating Malos, a task that sounded impossible, yet they still laughed and chatted like everything was fine. He didn’t know if they were brave, or just idiots. Still, with their strength, they were probably the best group to be with in the middle of all the chaos.

“Oi, Mik! You coming?”

Mikhail looked over to Milton, the Gormotti boy who called him. Even this early in the morning, before most of the army had gotten up, Milton was bright-eyed, perky-eared, and smiling. Mik had no clue where that energy came from, but it was still better than being a sad grump, he supposed.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Mikhail replied. He let out a yawn as he walked through the camp.

“You sleep well there?” asked Milton.

“Guess so.” Mik rubbed a bit of sleep out of his eye. “I don’t get why we had to sleep in a tent. Addam has a big house right there.” He looked up to the manor that loomed over the camp, proof of his success and status on the Tornan titan.

“There’s already loads of people sleepin’ in there,” said Milton. “Mostly kids and sick or hurt folk. You can’t walk two steps without bumpin’ into someone.”

“I mean, we’re kids, too.”

“You saying you can’t handle a little camping out, Mik?” Milton had a playful smile.

“N-Not what I meant!” Mik shook his head. As mature as he may have been, he was still just a kid.

“Heh heh, well, I don’t mind it myself,” continued Milton. “I’ve gotten used to camping outside since I met Addam. Sometimes, we’re out in the fields so long, I almost forget what a bed feels like.”

Mik sighed. “Must be really tiring following a guy like him around all the time.”

“Sure is, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in all of Alrest.”

“Really?” Mikhail looked at Milton and saw the contentment in his eyes. “You sure put a lot of faith in him.”

Milton stopped and turned to him just as they went underneath the arch of a stone gateway. “Well, why wouldn’t I? If you saw the things he’s done like I have, you would think he can do anything, too!”

“Anything… You mean like stop Malos?”

Milton looked Mikhail right in the eyes and raised a confident fist. “If anyone in Alrest can stop Malos, it’s Addam. I’d swear my life on it!”

Mikhail had to admit, he almost felt convinced just from that. Still, he found it hard to believe. Could a human even as supposedly great as Addam really stand up to something that destroyed an entire titan without breaking a sweat?

“If you say so,” said Mikhail with a shrug.

“Just stick with us and you’ll see for yourself, I promise.”

“Boys, over here!”

As if on cue, a strong voice caught the boys’ attention. They turned and saw Addam himself waving them over, an invitation they could not refuse. They jogged up to him and talked. Mikhail could not recall the exact conversation, since it was mostly between Addam and Milton. It was the usual pleasantries and whatnot, phrases like “stiff upper lip” were said, whatever they meant.

Before long, they were joined by the rest of their group: Lora, Jin, Haze, Mythra, and Brighid. The other two, Hugo and Aegeaon, were off elsewhere on official Ardainian business. Some things just couldn’t wait even with the whole world at stake, Mik supposed.

“Right, hope everyone slept well, because we have a big day ahead of us,” declared Addam with his usual go-getter smile. “Like I said last night, our main priority today is gathering food to help relieve the current shortage.”

“Errand boy duty again. Can’t hardly wait,” said Mythra, crossing her arms and looking away.

“Sorry if it’s not the most glamourous task in the world,” continued Addam, “But this is war. We have a responsibility to the people fighting under us.”

“I’m okay with it,” chimed in Lora, “Jin and I both know what it’s like to have to go hungry. If I can keep that from happening to others, I’m happy enough.” Jin punctuated this with a nod.

“With His Majesty gone and the bridge to the capital out, we may as well do all that we can for the militia here,” said Brighid, her voice elegant as always.

“Fine,” shrugged Mythra, “Someone’s gotta look after you all out there, I guess.”

“Besides,” Milton looked at Mythra, “It wouldn’t look good if the Aegis herself is just sittin’ around letting her bum get fatter.”

Mythra turned to him with a glare. “And what are you doing staring at my butt?”

“Can’t help it, you know. I have to make sure I don’t run into it and suffocate by accident.” Milton could hardly keep himself from cracking up at his own jokes.

“E-Excuse me!?” Mythra’s cheeks turned red, her expression a mix of shock and anger.

“Look out!” Milton already started running away, smiling all the while. “Don’t let the Aegis sit on you! You’ll wish for Malos to shoot you dead!”

“Y-You are so dead!” yelled Mythra, giving chase. “Get back here, you little perv!”

“Wait, Mythra!” called Addam, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

The rest of the group stood back and watched the silliness taking place. Lora and Haze put a hand over their mouths to hide their giggling, while Jin and Brighid both shook their heads. Mikhail merely put his hands behind his head and sighed. _Just another morning with these people,_ he thought to himself.

Still, he couldn’t say he hated the silliness. At least it was something to distract from all the misery around them. Soon enough, they’d be getting right back to work, and he would follow them around the world as always. Today hopefully wouldn’t be too tiring, though. It was just gathering food; how bad could that be?

 

* * *

 

“Nngh…”

Mik couldn’t help but groan a bit while he rooted through another patch of weeds in Aletta’s overgrown fields. He had plenty of reasons to voice his displeasure. Gathering food had turned out to be a tedious task; he and Milton couldn’t help with hunting the wild animals in the region, so they were stuck with hanging back and searching for edible plants. That was also easier said than done, as the particular fruit they needed grew underground, with vines that looked only slightly different from the surrounding weeds. After a few hours under the sun, he was ready to be done with this.

But most of his grunt came from one nuisance in particular. For much as he had been through in his life, Mikhail was still just a kid, with a bladder capacity to match. A few hours was enough for the pressure to reach the point where he could no longer ignore it.

There was no point in putting it off any longer. He would have to let someone know he needed to pee, so they could stand guard while he handled his business. It was a bit demeaning at first, but with all the dangerous people and creatures running amok, the grown-ups made it clear that they couldn’t take any risks with them being on their own.

Mikhail grunted as he stood back up, feeling the pressure shifting in his groin. He looked for Jin or Addam to be nearby so he could get this over with.

“Having any luck over here?”

Instead, he found Milton walking up to him, hands as empty as his.

“Not really.” Mik shook his head. “It’s all weeds here.”

Milton rubbed the back of his head. “Who’d have thought finding food for an army would be so tough, am I right?”

“Or take so long…” Mikhail rubbed one leg with the other to soothe his aching muscles and bladder.

“You okay?” asked Milton, leaning in and looking concerned.

“Mmm, kinda.” At first, Mik thought of not saying anything, but what did he have to hide? They were boys in the middle of nowhere, who really cared about modesty?

“I gotta pee,” he told Milton.

Milton’s eyes widened a little.

“What? It’s not a big deal,” said Mik.

“N-no, I know that,” Milton quickly replied. “It’s just that… I know the feeling.”

It was then that Mikhail noticed something off about Milton. The boy’s eyes had lost a bit of the carefree brightness behind them. His frown had a bit of strain to it, and his body seemed quite tense as well. It didn’t take a genius or even a grown-up to figure out why.

“You too?”

Milton nodded. “Been holdin’ onto it since a little after we started. I could really use a wee break myself.” As he spoke, his left leg rubbed over his right.

 _At least I’m not alone,_ Mikhail thought. He had half-expected Milton to brag about being able to hold it all day, so to hear him admit his need was a little refreshing. That, and they a had better chance of getting a break with two kids asking instead of just him.

“Come on, let’s go ask Jin or Addam to watch for us,” said Mikhail, turning and stepping away.

“W-Wait, we can’t do that!”

Mik stopped in his tracks and turned around, seeing Milton looking even more worried. “Why not?” he asked.

“We’d be interrupting their work, that’s why,” said Milton. “We just have to wait for Addam to call a break. He always does at least once or twice in the day.”

Mikhail crossed his arms. “That makes no sense. They’re just getting food, I’m sure they can take a couple minutes away from that.”

“I know they could…” Milton shook his head. “It’s just, we can’t make ourselves a burden to them.”

“And why not?”

“Look at it this way,” Milton started, looking over to the adults as they went about gathering food. “We’re just kids, you and me. We can’t do a lick of fighting, so they have to look out for us out here.”

“So?”

Milton looked at the gang in front of him as they all rooted about in the ground. Lora and Haze compared veggies with a smile, Jin and Addam were off on their own, and Mythra and Brighid were apparently having a contest as to who could look the most annoyed. “So, if they start seeing us as burdens, they might want to leave us behind at a camp while they keep heading towards Malos.” He raised a fist and turned to Mik. “And I don’t want to sit around at a camp while they’re out there. I want to be right with them for the whole thing.”

Mik frowned as he watched the others go about. Jin and Lora caught his glance especially, the first two people in a long time that made Mikhail feel like he wasn’t alone in this big, uncaring world. Much like Milton was with Addam, Mik felt the most content being at their side. He didn’t want to be stuck in some camp with people he didn’t know, possibly never to see those two again.

But he couldn’t dismiss Milton as being ridiculous, either. Malos was nothing like the monsters and bandits their team had battled thus far. If he was going to prove that he deserved to stay, it would have to be as soon as he could.

“Fine, I’ll try to hold it,” Mik relented.

“Thanks, Mik.” Milton smiled. “Addam will call for a break soon, I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Mikhail. Already, his bladder felt heavier at his decision, but he tried his best to hide it. If it meant not being separated from his companions, he would do whatever it took.

 

* * *

 

_How hard is it to find food for one meal?_

As the group walked through more weeds to what felt like the twentieth spot to gather ingredients, Mikhail felt thankful that everyone’s attention was elsewhere. That way, he could hang back to hide his stiff walking and occasional hand placed between his legs.

But even this provided little comfort to him now. This was the closest he had been to reaching his limit in a long time, and it felt every bit as painful and stressful as one would think.

The few glances he took of Milton showed him that he felt the same way. The lad kept biting his lower lip and looking over to any rock, tree, or tall patch of grass, anywhere he could rush over to and hose down before soaking his overalls.

 _This is stupid,_ Mikhail scolded himself, _They’re not stopping anytime soon. Just tell them you gotta go already!_ Shaking his head, he steeled himself before opening his mouth to say just that.

“Wait, look over there!” Lora beat him to breaking the relative silence. Mikhail whimpered a little bit, letting the question die in his throat.

Everyone else stopped and turned to where Lora pointed. Not far from them were a handful of birdlike, bipedal monsters, all trying to pull a couple bulky containers along the ground.

“Are those tirkin?” asked Haze.

“It would seem so,” said Brighid, “But what could they be pulling?

Addam’s smile dropped to a frown. “Why, those cheeky little buzzards! They’re stealing supplies from the militia!”

“Oh dear, we can’t let them get away with that!” said Lora, winding up her braid around her hand.

“Want me to call a beam down on them?” asked Mythra as a glow started to form on her circlet. “I’m sure nobody would mind a few less oversized birds in the world.”

“And vaporize the supplies while you’re at it?” spoke Brighid. “We’re trying to get more supplies for the resistance, not less.”

The glow faded. “Just a suggestion,” Mythra pouted.

“We’ll deal with them in the usual manner,” said Jin, already stepping forward and unsheathing his nodachi.

“Agreed.” Addam pulled his sword out, with the rest of the party following suit. He then turned to Mik and Milton, who both stood up tall and rigid with their hands at their sides. “Wait right here, boys. This will only be a moment.”

“Y-Yes sir, M-Mister Addam, sir!” Milton replied like a private at boot camp.

The instant all the grown-ups turned around and left to fight, the boys dropped their brave faces and shoved their hands to their groins. “Ah, that was too close!” Milton bemoaned.

Mikhail had to agree, and he didn’t want to risk it any longer. “Come on, now’s our chance!” he said to Milton.

“Our what?” Milton raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s go while they’re busy fighting! I’m not waiting anymore!”

Milton opened his mouth as if to object, but no objection came. Instead, he looked to the group, already in the midst of battle, then back to Mik, then to somewhere in between.

“O-Okay, over there!” He nodded towards a small rock wall with an uphill incline next to it. It was a bit of a jog, but it would hide them from view long enough to do what they needed to do.

It might have been against Addam’s orders, but with a chance for relief so close, Mikhail wasn’t complaining. “Then let’s go!” he declared, rushing off at once.

The run to the spot took only a few seconds, but each one felt like minutes to Mik and Milton. Knowing that they would finally be peeing in a few seconds made both of their bladders subconsciously prepare to empty. By the time they reached the wall, they were both squirming with their hands crammed between their legs.

“Ooh, I can’t wait!” said Milton while fumbling with the zipper at the crotch of his overalls. “I feel like I could explode!”

“Me too!” Mikhail said. He was quite happy that his clothes were simple to get out of the way. Just pull his pants down a little, lift up the shirt, take aim, and-

“Reeeee!”

A shriek from above shoved all thoughts of peeing out of each boy’s head. They jumped back and went wide-eyed with panic at the sight of three tirkins standing on the rocks above them, each with a weapon drawn.

“Ah, run!” yelled Milton, zipping his overalls back up while Mikhail flipped his tunic down.

It was already too late. The tirkins leapt down, one landing in front of the boys and the other two at the sides. Just like that, they were surrounded with no escape. With their bodies trembling out of fear instead of a need to pee, the boys backed up on instinct until they hit the stone wall, the monsters creeping in all the while.

“W-What do you want with us?” Mikhail tried to stand up tall and put on a brave face, though there was no hiding the quiver in his voice. “We don’t have anything you can take.”

“Rah! No take, only hurt!” yelled the tirkin in front.

“But w-why hurt us?” stammered Milton.

“Your friends hurt tirkin friends! We hurt you now!” It stepped forward with a spear pointed forward, it’s comrades doing the same.

Mikhail could only look at the tip of the crude spear as it inched closer to him. Was this really how he was going to die? Killed by a random monster just because he chose peeing over staying safe? And not long after he found people he actually liked in this world, too. Oh well, he supposed, if he had to go, it probably wasn’t the worst way. His only regret was that someone else would be dying right next to him.

But just before the spear could reach them, a sharp, chilling wind sliced through the air. The spear’s tip shattered from the handle, and the tirkin fell backwards onto its bottom with a yelp.

“Wha!? Who turn down temperature!?” yelled another monster.

A crack from a fiery braid across the face helped warm it back up.

“What happening!?” The third tirkin managed to cry out before a gust of wind blew it back, sending it tumbling through the grass.

It all happened so fast, Mikhail wasn’t sure that it was actually happening at first. However, the sight of Jin, Lora, and Haze rushing up and putting themselves in front of the beasts. Rescue had come, and he could not be happier for it.

“If you value your lives, you will flee and not attack us again,” declared Jin in a combat stance.

As the tirkin collected themselves, they took the warning to heart and ran with their tails between her legs. “Tirkin not forget this!” the lead one yelled as he ran the fastest.

Once they were out of sight, the adults put their weapons away and turned to the kids. Haze and Lora came up to them and Lora asked, “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, we’re fine,” said Mikhail, avoiding eye contact. It wasn’t entirely truthful; he may have been unhurt, but he was quickly remembering the reason he came here, and how little time he had left before the pressure finally overwhelmed him.

“I’m glad to hear that,” came Addam’s voice as he walked up with the rest of the crew in tow. He crossed his arms and cast a set of stern parental eyes on them. “But what were you doing all the way over here? I thought I told you to wait back behind us.”

“Um, a-about that, Mister Addam,” Milton tried to speak with a clear tension on his face. “We were just, er, I mean, it w-was a long day and, uh, I thought we could j-just-”

“We gotta pee!”

Mikhail’s outburst brought open mouths and wide eyes to the whole group. He was far past caring about that, however, as he squeezed his legs together and hunched over without shame. He could endure this little embarrassment if it meant not pissing himself right there.

“It’s true!” said Milton next to him, grabbing his groin and putting one knee in front of the other. “We were just gonna pop off real quick, but then those monsters jumped us and-”

“Right, say no more!” Addam put his hands up, and the boys fell silent, though they still squirmed in place. He turned to the others and said, “Come, let’s give the boys some privacy, and quick!”

“Er, good idea,” said Lora, scratching her cheek while she headed off.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” said Jin as he followed behind.

While the rest of them dispersed, Addam turned to the boys as he walked away. “I’ll be nearby if you need me,” he said before disappearing behind the rock.

“Th-Thank you, Mister Addam!” Milton said while fumbling with his zipper again.

Mik had nothing more to add, so he went right to lifting up his tunic and loosening his pants. He had precious few seconds before it would come shooting out, and he wasn’t wasting them.

Before long, both boys were facing the rock wall, their pants undone and privates aimed forward. It was there that Mikhail realized how close they stood next to each other, letting the open air mingle with places it normally didn’t. The awkwardness spread downwards, halting his stream from starting for a couple extra seconds, and judging by the lack of peeing from Milton, his friend probably felt the same way.

But before he could take a step away, the moment passed, and two golden trickles spilled out onto the ground, both building into a steady and powerful stream that trailed up the rock until it reached a height halfway between the boys’ knees and hips. A noisy splatter reached their ears as their pee hit full power, both of them letting it fly without shame. It didn’t take long for the dirt at the base to become saturated with pee, and a puddle grew out, stopping short of their shoes.

At first, neither Mikhail nor Milton could think of anything but how glad they were to finally relieve their overfilled bladders. Milton was more vocal with his relief, letting out a long, loud moan and lifting his head up, his ears leaning back as if an invisible hand was patting him. Mikhail only closed his eyes and sighed, but he was smiling all the way on the inside. All that struggling had built up to this nice release, and he was content to stand there and ride it all the way out in peace.

“Huh, would you look at that?”

Milton’s words made Mik open his eyes. He first turned to his friend, then followed his gaze down at where their piddle struck the rock. He, too, found himself mesmerized by what he saw: with the sun hitting this side of the rock, the parts of the wall covered in their urine gained an odd gleam, not quite like a valuable mineral, but still satisfying to look at in a weird way.

As Mik looked on, something inside stirred him to move, perhaps out of his boyish instinct. He turned his hips left and right, coating more of the wall and making a bigger shiny area. Seeing it grow bigger with his own pee felt strangely pleasing, motivating him to keep covering more and more.

“Gonna paint the whole rock there?”

Until Milton reminded him that he wasn’t alone. Suddenly, Mikhail became quite shy, bringing his sway to a complete stop. Great, he probably thinks I’m a weirdo now.

“It works better if you start up higher, like this!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikhail noticed Milton’s stream going upwards. He couldn’t resist looking over and finding out why. Milton had leaned back a bit and lifted his boyhood, the arc now rising above his stomach. True to his word, his part of the rock was coated quicker, with the urine covering the gaps as it ran down.

Guess he’s a weirdo, too, Mik thought as he looked at Milton’s unashamed grin while he played with his pee. Still, he couldn’t blame the kid; in the short time he had known Milton, he had seen how he wanted to keep things fun, even in such dark times. It reminded him a bit of Lora, always smiling and optimistic no matter what.

In any case, Milton wasn’t bothered with a little pee play, so Mikhail decided he may as well join back in. Leaning back just like him, Mik pointed his privates up, raising his stream’s trajectory and hitting the wall above stomach-height. Chuckles followed as the two went about marking the rock as best they could. It was a small respite from their tough life, and they would enjoy it while it lasted.

Not much longer, and both boys reached the end of their pee, the streams hitting lower until they fell onto the ground, then stopping off after a couple last spurts. They each shook out the remaining drops, then tucked themselves back into their clothes, modest again.

“I think we did a fine job, wouldn’t you say?” said Milton as he admired their work. At the end, just about every part of the wall they could reach was covered up to belly-height. The shine made the rock look practically radiant in the sun now.

Mik paid little mind to it, however. With his bladder empty, he was free to think of other stuff again, and they weren’t happy thoughts. He had embarrassed himself in front of the whole group. Even if he hadn’t actually wet himself, it was more reason for them to think of him as a burden. He let out a small grunt in frustration at his failure.

“I know the feeling,” he heard Milton say next to him. The boy’s goofy smile had gone, weighed down by the same facts that Mikhail had realized. “I guess we have some explaining to do now.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” said Mikhail.

The boys left their “art” behind, Mik leading the way. As they rounded the corner, neither of them could look Addam in the eyes when he turned around, even with his gentle smile and understanding eyes.

“You boys alright? You look rather glum for someone who just avoided hosing their trousers,” said Addam.

“W-We’re fine, Mister Addam,” said Milton, “But we’re awful sorry for running off like that. We just couldn’t hold it any longer.”

Addam shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for, Milton. I’m mostly the one to blame for this mishap. We had gotten into a rhythm, and I had forgotten about pacing ourselves with a break.” He then rubbed his chin and said, “But still, if it was that bad, you could have piped up about it. We would have kept an eye for you both, you know.”

“Aye, we know.” Milton rubbed the back of his head. “But it’s just… well, you see…”

“We didn’t want to be burdens.”

Much like Mikhail’s previous outburst, this brought another confused look from Addam. “Burdens? What do you mean?” he asked.

Milton sighed. “We just wanted to show we could still hang in there with you all, and that you wouldn’t have to… leave us behind before we got close to Malos.”

Mikhail could see Milton’s body deflate more as he uttered those words, so much so that it weighed him down as well. Even when sold as a slave, he could scarcely recall a moment where he felt more pathetic than this.

“I must admit, I’m still perplexed by this,” said Addam, rubbing her chin. “Where in Alrest did you get the idea that we thought you both as burdensome?”

Both boys looked up almost as dumbfounded as Addam was. “M-Mister Addam?” mumbled Milton.

“Milton, you’ve been with me for, what is it, three years now? Surely, you would know better than that,” said Addam with a patient smile. “We have to keep an extra eye out for you both, sure, but we do so because we want to, not because we have to.”

Mikhail had to blink a couple times before responding. “You mean you actually want us around?”

“Of course we do!” came Lora’s voice, getting the three’s attention. They found that she wasn’t alone, either; the rest of the gang followed behind her, their focus on the boys giving them more reason to blush.

“You don’t have to fight monsters to help out,” said Haze. “Just by walking and laughing and smiling with us, you’re reminding us of why we’re fighting in the first place.”

“That, and if we were gonna ditch you guys, I’m sure it would’ve already happened,” Mythra added.

“Mythra,” said Addam like a parent chastising their child.

“What?” Mythra crossed her arms. “I’m just trying to help and stuff.”

Mikhail had to lower his head to hide the blush growing on his cheeks. People actually wanted him, not just as cheap slave labor, but as a companion. It was a foreign feeling, and he didn’t fully know what to make of the emotions stirring within.

But he at least had to do one thing. Lifting his head up, Mikhail looked right at the group. “Th-”

“Thanks a bunch, you guys!”

It was Milton’s turn to interrupt. Stepping forward and showing his reddened face, he went on without shame. “We’ll make this up to you all somehow. We’ll…” his eyes drifted about for a moment. “We’ll do the cooking tonight! With all the stuff we’ve been gathering today!”

Mikhail realized his mouth was still open, so he closed it. “Y-Yeah, what he said,” he added. _He put it better than I could’ve, anyway._

“Ha ha, I look forward to whatever you whip up!” Addam said, placing a hand on Milton’s shoulder. In response, the lad closed his eyes and smiled, looking like a kitten enjoying a good petting.

“Great,” said Mythra, bringing the moment to an end. “So now that we’re done here, can we please get back to finding all this junk?”

“Actually, I have a better idea,” said Addam. “I think we’ve earned ourselves a little rest first. Take some time to snack, catch your breath, or do whatever else you need to.”

“With pleasure!” Haze declared, grabbing onto Lora’s arm.

“Er, right…” Lora gained a blush. “We’ll just… be over there somewhere if anyone needs us. Would you mind coming with us, Brighid? We’ll need a lookout for… reasons.”

“If... I must,” said an expressionless Brighid.

As the trio departed, with Lora and Haze having a certain tension to their walk, Mythra scoffed and turned around. “Fine, but everybody better hurry it up!”

The men stared with open mouths and raised eyebrows as Mythra walked away. “Now what could be her problem?” Milton wondered aloud.

Mikhail shrugged and glanced away, turning his attention to the sky and cloud sea towards the east. He should have felt frustrated and embarrassed after this ordeal, but he didn’t. Instead, he was oddly at peace with everything at the moment.

Maybe it was because he didn’t have that painful pressure to worry about now, he wondered. He certainly hadn’t had a whiz like that in a long time. Then again, he didn’t have anyone to share that feeling with before, nor did he have people to look forward to when he was done. Mikhail knew now that this group was one-of-a-kind, and there was nowhere in Alrest he would rather be. Maybe it wouldn’t last, and their world was destined to be destroyed, but he couldn’t dwell on that. For now, all he could do was be content with where he was for as long as it lasted.


End file.
